ACF conference 2025: Carol Mack’s speech

26 November 2025

ACF chief executive Carol Mack addressed a full room during the closing plenary of the ACF conference on 26 November 2025. This is her speech.

Thank you, David [Holdsworth] – we greatly appreciate you being here and your recognition of the vital contribution foundations make to society.

I realise that I’m the only thing standing between you and our networking drinks! I wanted to take a moment to reflect on today, share some of my key takeaways, and give you a sense of what to expect from ACF going forward.

What a brilliant day it’s been! You can feel the energy in the room and the buzz of being together in person. Today we welcomed 300 delegates from foundations from across the country – a fantastic turnout – and doesn’t it just demonstrate the value of face-to-face connection?

For me, the mood throughout has been reflective and deeply collaborative – even as we acknowledge the acute challenges our sector and wider society are facing.

We have two final questions on Slido to get a sense of the feeling in the room, after a full day of conference:

After today, how confident do you now feel about the future outlook for foundations, including your own, over the next 5-10 years?

In a few words, what actions might your foundation take to become more future-ready?

Conference theme and framework to understand key forces at play

Today’s conference theme has been 'Future-ready foundations – building resilience, relevance, and readiness'.

Now, I may not have a crystal ball, but what I’ve heard today gives me real optimism: fresh ideas, bold conversations, and future-focused thinking.

As I think about everything we’ve discussed, I’m reflecting on three key forces at play:

The weight of the past
The push of the present
The pull of the future

It’s no coincidence that these are the core elements of the futures triangle – that’s a tool developed by foresight scholar Dr Sohail Inayatullah to analyse the forces that are shaping the future.

So, to repeat – that’s the weight of the past, the push of the present and the pull of the future.

And I’m going to look at each in turn.

What do we mean by the weight of the past?

When we talk about foundations in the UK, we’re talking about an extraordinary past – a legacy that stretches back many years, centuries even.

The fingerprints of charitable foundations are everywhere: in the museums we visit, the medical breakthroughs that save lives, the schools and universities that educate generations, and the parks which preserve green space for all to enjoy.

But with such a rich history comes complexity.

We know that the origins of some foundation wealth are intertwined with difficult histories – exploitation of the trafficking of enslaved people and other historic injustices.

Understanding our past – where wealth came from and its impact – helps us see how those legacies continue to shape the context in which we work today.

Many of you have already been on that journey: revisiting your founding stories, exploring new lines of inquiry, and asking tough questions about power and purpose.

There are differing perspectives both in the foundation sector and beyond – have foundations always been a force for progress?

Or have they, at times, reinforced the very systems and inequities they seek to transform?

This is not a question to shy away from. It’s one we must face with honesty.

Because the past continues to influence who benefits from the status quo, and who stands to lose if we change it.

Real transformation demands courage to confront the visible and invisible barriers that hold us back, as well as the wisdom to preserve the legacies and traditions worth keeping.

So that’s some of the weight of the past – what about the push of the present?

Today’s philanthropic landscape is dynamic, complex, and full of possibility – just look around the room!

As foundations, you have your ear to the ground – identifying need, responding to challenges, and finding ways to create lasting impact.

And those challenges are not small. They are many, and they are significant.

You work across an extraordinary range of intersecting missions – from arts to agriculture; culture to community; transport to technology – each with its own complexities and contradictions.

You navigate that every day, balancing ambition with realism, vision with responsibility. You can respond nimbly and quickly to urgent need, and be mindful of longer time horizons, riding out economic and political cycles.

So, what is shaping the world we’re working in now – in the present – and what will define it in the years ahead?

We can already see:

Changing patterns of inequality and social polarisation testing our cohesion

Rapid technological change altering how we connect and communicate and shaping the world of work; and

Volatile climate impacts and geopolitical shifts sending ripple effects through economies and societies across the globe.

These are some of the defining megatrends of our time – inescapable, interconnected, and already affecting your organisations – whether that’s directly or indirectly.

And while these pressures will continue to evolve – their intensity rising or falling over time – their influence will endure.

The pull of the future

And that brings us to the pull of the future – the question of what lies ahead, and how we choose to meet it.

To quote JFK, the former US President: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

Isn’t that sentiment more relevant today than ever before?

Change is the one constant in a world experiencing rapid, often turbulent, social, economic, and political shifts.

For foundations, this makes three things clear: you need to stay resilient in uncertain times, remain relevant to the causes and communities you serve, and be ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

But it also calls for something more ambitious – bold imagination.

Surviving these headwinds is not enough – we must learn to thrive, despite them and because of them.

It’s going to look different for each of you – depending on your mission and context – but:

Foundations are supporting organisations that are imagining and building alternative futures

You’re rethinking how assets can be invested for social impact – looking to the industries and opportunities of tomorrow: from advances in healthcare to green infrastructure

And you’re coming together with others to explore how you can help shape a more equitable future with AI.

This is our moment for blue-sky thinking. To ask:

How can disruptive forces be harnessed for good?

What would an ideal future look like for society – what does that mean for foundations? How we need to behave? And who we need to work with?

How can we co-create that future, grounded in shared values and collective purpose?

I know that can feel daunting. But if any group is equipped for this task, it’s you.

Time and time again, foundations have shown what’s possible – combining financial resources, relationships and networks, with long-term vision to drive significant change in partnership with others.

At the same time, and as importantly, many of you are also playing a steady, vital role sustaining the fabric of society – providing the continuity and stability that long-term progress depends on. It’s the quiet, often unseen work: the day-to-day grants that keep community organisations’ doors open, the lights on, the staff safe. Enduring support that rarely makes headlines but enables everything else to happen. Far-reaching change may capture the spotlight, but it’s this quiet, steadfast work that holds society together.

More broadly you stepped up through the financial crash, through the pandemic and through the cost-of-living crisis, distributing record levels of grant funding. During the covid pandemic, the UK’s foundation sector increased grant-making by 13% in real terms – that’s over and above inflation – followed by further increases in every year since then.

And in the past year, many of you have taken action to protect and support grant partners in the face of division, discrimination, and racial hatred.

I have seen you lead with courage, compassion, and agility. And I have no doubt that you will continue to do so – shaping not just how you respond to change, but shaping the future itself.

Forging a path ahead

As the membership body for trusts and foundations, ACF is here to support you every step of the way – wherever you are, whatever your size, whatever your mission. And if you’re not a member – yet – what are you waiting for? We’d love to have you join ACF – just reach out to us.

So, what comes next? How do we – as ACF – forge a path forward from this moment?

We’ll take the insights from today and use them to help foundations stay ahead of the curve, creating opportunities for members to make sense of change together.

Today’s conference is just one way we make this happen – alongside our learning and events programme, member-led networks, special interest groups, and our online platforms. These shared spaces matter, and we will continue to provide them.

We’ll continue to create practical tools and resources to help you adapt, strengthen your practice and lead with confidence. We’ll do this through our evolving Stronger Foundations framework which sets out what excellent practice looks like for foundations, co-created with our members.

As your membership body, we’ll champion foundations – advocating for you and amplifying your collective voice.

And we’ll keep listening. We are the Association OF charitable foundations, not FOR charitable foundations – a distinction that mattered to our founders – and still guides us today. Your experience, your concerns and your aspirations shape our work.

And as you take the discussions from today back into your organisations and reflect on them – we know they will spark practical action – helping to build our sector’s resilience, relevance and readiness in the months and years ahead.

Thank you for listening.

Thank yous and close

Without this becoming an Oscars speech(!), I do want to end by giving some thank yous: but hopefully no handkerchiefs required.

Thank you to our brilliant speakers today: Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan for his thought-provoking keynote setting the tone for our conversations; David Holdsworth, chief executive of that forward-thinking charity regulator sharing his reflections just now.

And our fantastic panel: Alice Casey, Rowena Estwick, Baljeet Sandhu and Crispin Truman, all facilitated by ACF trustee Hannan Ali.

Big thank you to all our workshop hosts for leading our breakout sessions, there are too many of you to mention individually – but my thanks go to each and every one of you.

I’d especially like to thank our Official Partners for today and for all of the support that you give to ACF throughout the year – Mercer for hosting the welcome breakfast, Ruffer and CCLA for your workshops, and Cazenove for hosting the evening drinks, which we are coming to very shortly.

Thanks also go to our corporate partners Blackbaud, Bates Wells, and Farrer – we’re so glad to have you with us, and thanks to our conference sponsors CAF Bank, Unity Trust Bank and Plinth.

I’d like to thank ACF’s trustees – many of whom are with us today and especially those who played a key role in chairing and facilitating sessions – we couldn’t have done it without you.

And finally and most importantly – I’d like to pay tribute to all the ACF staff who made today possible through their hard work imagination and commitment over many months. This really was a whole organisation effort – thank you to each and every one of you – you are amazing!

Last of all, I want to thank all of YOU – for the energy, insight and engagement you brought to today, and as valued members of our foundation community.

With that, I’ll conclude the main conference programme and am delighted to invite you – at last – to our evening drinks, generously hosted by our Official Partner Cazenove.

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